


Aftermath

by FernPool



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Canon Compliant, Depression, F/M, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-16
Updated: 2020-08-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:49:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25929172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FernPool/pseuds/FernPool
Summary: After the events of the Rise of Skywalker, Rey is on Tatooine, mourning the death of her dyad in the force, Ben Solo. One day, she has a revelation and vows to bring him back.
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 6
Kudos: 9





	Aftermath

**Author's Note:**

> Please excuse the iffy writing, this was quite literally the first fanfic I wrote, a day or two after I saw TROS. I had forgotten about this thing until [Kylowithazukoarc](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KyloWithAZukoArc/pseuds/KyloWithAZukoArc)made a post about Rey falling to the dark side after Ben died and I remembered this. I also edited half the planet names in because I know what they are now.  
> TW: Depression after the death of a loved one

Rey scratched another notch into the sandstone wall. Since arriving at the Skywalker farm two weeks ago, and burying Luke and Leia’s sabers, she had started counting the days. She was again counting the days since someone left her, not her parents this time, but Ben. 

Her thoughts drifted to when he had healed her. The sacrifice of another life for hers had been weighing down on her for days, and she felt it was wasted, she didn’t deserve another chance. Secretly, she still hoped that he was alive, and just needed time. But she knew it was impossible. He can’t come back. Her friends had celebrated after the battle, but she hadn’t heard what they were saying, didn’t let herself go back to reality. 

Her friends had told her to let whoever she was mourning for off her mind, and let them go, but she didn’t want to. She had returned to the base happy, but when the crew cleaning and fixing Luke’s old X-wing had found Ben’s shirt and tried to burn it, she snapped, shoving them all away. I 

t was the only thing she had left to remember he had come back for her, when her parents never did. Her friends had looked at her with pity, and Finn had tried to console her. His words never reached her; they were empty. She still had it on her bunk, wishing he was here to keep her grounded. 

Her day passed in monotone as per usual, going through a routine of cleaning and repairing the vaporators, collecting the water, then sitting awake until sleep overwhelmed her. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

The next morning, she scratched another notch into the wall, sighing. She had promised herself after she left Jakku never to count the days again, never to wait in vain for someone who wasn’t coming back. She had broken that promise, and all the promises to her friends to call back and check in. Finn had made her promise she would check back in every three days, and she did. Once. She stopped after that. 

The light inside her dimmed each day she spent in the homestead, until only a spark remained. She had grown tired of her life on the farm, knew she was destined for more. The great Palpatine blood ran through her veins, she could do anything. Perhaps even bring back the dead. 

She glanced at her lightsaber, set on the shelf gathering dust. Ben’s kyber crystal inside of it, still held a fraction of his soul, and a bit of hers, too. She had healed it in the first days after he died, when she still had energy to do things and the guts to fake a smile. She knew how she would be ‘accepted’, more accurately, executed for fraternizing with the enemy. Her friends could never know that her trip back to Kef Bir wasn't to get a part for her lightsaber. 

She picked up the lightsaber gingerly. If a part of his soul was still in his crystal, could she bring him back? She dusted it off gently and set it on the ground. She reached out with her mind, feeling for even the faintest hint of him. 

A glimmer sparked at the edge of her vision, and she pulled at it. She sensed a presence behind her, but it was not Ben. She whirled around; hands curled into fists. 

Luke stood before her. “Rey, you know what this will cost. It is not worth it.” 

“Apparently helping your nephew, your own blood, instead of trying to KILL him isn’t worth it either!” She snarled. “I’m trying to give him a second chance, something you Skywalkers don’t seem to understand!” 

Luke’s eyes filled with regret. “I made a mistake. I don’t want you to waste your life chasing after ghosts.” 

“You wasted yours focusing on reviving the Jedi Order, you have nowhere to talk!” Rey ignited her lightsaber and slashed through Luke’s incorporeal form. He vanished. 

She reached out once more, focusing towards the pinpoint speck of Ben. She grabbed onto the pinpoint and pulled. A snap echoed through the room, and Rey felt cold. She heard a dull groan. “Rey?” 

__________________________________________ 

Ben’s head hurt. Wait, his head? He realized he could feel a cold floor underneath him, no longer the floating abyss he was in before. 

He opened his eyes, and saw Rey sitting cross-legged on the floor next to him. “Rey?” 

She opened her eyes, and Ben knew something was very, very wrong. Her eyes were no longer the bright shade of hazel he had grown to know, but a red-rimmed sickly yellow, and she was pale as a Kaminoan. He had never fallen to the darkness far enough, but he knew the symptoms. 

“Rey, you need to pull back from the dark! It’s going to suffocate you!” 

She looked at him sadly. “This was the price to pay. It was worth it just to see you again.” 

She collapsed, and Ben rushed to her side, cradling her body as he had done so long ago on Exegol. She was alive, but only just. 

There was still hope.

**Author's Note:**

> Come and see me on [my Tumblr](https://fernpool.tumblr.com/)


End file.
